Friday, March 13th 2020 For most of his working life, and certainly for all his married life, Robert had planned that he would retire at 55. As a teacher, that should ideally coincide with the end of a term, so this would mean retiring at the end of the autumn term in December 2019. Robert had always intended that he would travel as extensively as he could with his wife, Matilda, when they retired. With this retirement date in mind, he therefore felt that 2020 was the year to plan the first really big trip for Travelling Herd. [Regular readers will be aware that he actually retired before he turned 55, but this is the reason that 2020 became such a focal point.] So as the endgame approached he looked for interesting travel opportunities. As many of you know he is keen on his train travel, so why not do the longest train journey in the world – the Trans-Siberian Railway? Research led to the travel blog of Matthew Woodward and his several trips on the Trans-Siberian. The other go-to website for world wide train travel is The Man in Seat Sixty One. There are in fact three different routes […]
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Wednesday 1st to Thursday 2nd January 2020 To start our second family quest to see the Northern Lights, Robert and Matilda travelled by train to Gatwick whilst their daughters drove themselves there with the larger items of luggage. With a two hour time difference between the UK and Finland most of the day was taken up with travel. Having checked in to our hotel we had limited time to find a restaurant with suitable vegetarian options for our evening meal. The choice of restaurant was further restricted by the fact that we had arrived on New Year’s Day and many places were closing early or offering a limited menu following the previous night’s revelry. The hotel was opposite a well-known fast food chain however, so if all else failed we knew we could at least order fries. Walking round the town we passed immense snow and ice sculptures – see selfie of the day. We eventually identified a bar offering a wide range of local beers and both meat and vegetarian burgers. With the evening meal planned, we first visited a pub for an aperitif and then returned to eat. The bar also featured an alcove at the rear with […]
Monday 2nd December to Tuesday 3rd December 2019 Having planned to meet friends in Bath to enjoy the famous Christmas market there we decided to break the journey and found a place to stay near the ancient site of Old Sarum. From here we walked into Salisbury and visited the Cathedral. The original building was constructed between 1075 and 1092 but just five days after the consecration ceremony it was damaged in a storm and needed repairs: we felt that some people might have taken this as a sign of divine displeasure. In about 1120 to 1130 the cathedral was rebuilt on a much grander scale, although some of these buildings have since been demolished. Today there is a peaceful cloister which is said to be the largest of any cathedral in Britain. In the Chapter House off the cloisters you can see the best preserved one of just four remaining original copies of the Magna Carta, dating from June 1215. This document covers such varied topics as the standardisation of weights and measures and the rights of the Church as well as the importance of legal due process and, crucially, the principle that no one, not even the king, […]
Wednesday, 13th November 2019 This trip is a first for both of us: the first time either of us has stepped on African soil and, in Paul Simon’s words, “walked under African skies”. Flying into Marrakech Menara Airport the landscape beneath us looked predominantly arid but, where it had been cultivated, the fields were very regular and angular with regimented rows of crops. In the arrivals lounge there were a couple of kiosks offering local SIM cards at a cost of €1 per Gb. A WorldSIM from our usual international supplier, for short stays in non-European countries, works out at £230 per Gb in Morocco, whilst O2 sent us a message saying the charge was £7 per Mb (the equivalent of an eye-watering £7,000 per Gb). The local offering is clearly considerably cheaper than a WorldSIM and we opted for two 20 Gb SIMs so that we could both stay in touch. Buying a local SIM obviously makes financial sense and all you need to provide is your passport. However, you do need to be aware that, at the kiosk we went to, payment was cash only – no cards – so you may need to get some local cash […]
Tuesday 10th September 2019 One of the many pleasures of being able to devote more time to travelling is returning to cities and places which we have already visited without feeling we are sacrificing seeing somewhere new. Invariably, each visit is different and this time it was a specific exhibition which inspired us to bring our younger daughter on the Eurostar on her first trip to Paris. The top section of the Eiffel Tower is visible from our hotel room so, having deposited our luggage in the early evening, we took a walk down towards the closest Kusmi Tea shop where Matilda invested in some of her new favourite blend: St Petersburg. It is a variation on Earl Grey with additional hints of red berry and caramel. Mindful of the environmental impact of tea bags she bought loose leaf tea. From here we continued on towards the River Seine and the Eiffel Tower. We had both visited Paris independently before we met and have returned several times since our first visit together in 1992. But none of our joint visits have yet included the Eiffel Tower. This time we have booked to go up all the way this elegant engineering […]
Friday, 16th to Saturday, 17th August 2019 From Cardiff Central Station we walked a short distance around the Principality Stadium along the bank of the River Taff to check in to the Holiday Inn. There are several Victorian covered arcades which provided some shelter from the rain as we started to look round this historic city. There is also a Victorian glass-covered market which opened in its current position in 1835. Although this is not as splendid as some we have visited, it did include the extensive Spillers record store on the upper level. We had decided we wanted to visit Cardiff Bay which is a little way out from the centre and which you can travel to by river taxi: the journey takes about 20 minutes. There is an informative commentary onboard but unfortunately the rain on the windows, coupled with a slight delay on the audio, meant that it was difficult to make out the landmarks which were being pointed out to us as we passed them. Sights included the white clapboard Norwegian Church, now dismantled, relocated and re-opened as an arts centre, where Roald Dahl and his family worshipped. As we disembarked we asked a member of […]
Wednesday 26 June 2019 Ironically, having revelled in the fact that we no longer need to go away during the school holidays and can therefore avoid higher prices, other people’s fractious children and the hottest months of the year, our trip to Corsica and Sardinia saw us heading for Paris in a positive heatwave. Temperatures in Paris hit 34 degrees on the day we arrived, schools have closed, national exams have been cancelled and vehicles are being restricted in the capital to combat pollution. As we arrived at our four star Holiday Inn, close to the Gare de Lyon [which features a picturesque and elegant clock tower] . . . . . . the neon sign on the building next door flashed the immortal words “Sex Shop”. Matilda felt she was stepping back in time to the period before retirement and before she had issued her minimum star requirement for hotels when Robert habitually booked those closest to the station for convenience. Curiously, the areas around the main line stations all across Europe seem to feature establishments which offer this service. Having checked in and applied sun protection we walked to Notre Dame to pay our respects to this iconic […]
Wednesday 22nd May 2019 The journey to the Isles of Scilly includes a range of different transport options and so strongly appeals to Robert. As he arrived back from France on Tuesday evening he had decided to optimise our time on Tresco by going straight to catch the overnight sleeper from Paddington Station where Matilda greeted a much-loved character from her childhood reading. The first class waiting room was almost deserted. Our experience of first class sleepers in India had made us slightly wary but our cabin was clean and comfortable, if rather compact. We were able to have a bite to eat and a night cap in the buffet car before settling in for the train journey to Penzance. It is a short walk from Penzance Station to the dock from whence the Scillonian departs. Staff take charge of luggage and labels show which of the islands it needs to be transported to. Restorative coffees were available on board, the crossing was calm and sunny. It was a real pleasure to spot dolphins and whales playing in the wake behind the ship. We felt thrice blessed when we saw seals on the crossing from St Mary’s quay to Tresco. […]
Sunday 28th and Monday 29th April 2019 Having booked relatively early flights from Southend Airport for Monday morning, we decided to stay in the airport hotel the night before to avoid the stress of the M25 during rush hour. With time to spare, Matilda persuaded Robert that a trip to Southend Pier would be a pleasant way to pass the afternoon. Travelling to Southend Airport Station from Liverpool Street is straightforward [and is much cheaper than the fare to Stansted]. It is then a very short walk to the terminal or the hotel. Having deposited our luggage, we returned to the station to get the train into Southend itself. There is a lift down to the promenade which features a row of arches housing almost exclusively fish and chip shops extending into the distance and which probably has not changed for decades. Southend Pier is the longest leisure pier in the world at 1.33 miles or 7,080 feet. As the estuary is quite shallow at the edges, the tide goes out a long way stranding boats as the waters recede. There is a train along the pier so it is strange that we have not visited before now. We opted […]
Monday 4th to Wednesday 6th March 2019 Initially, we were aware that out eight hour flight from London to New Delhi was going to be extended by two hours because it was being diverted around Pakistani airspace, via a longer route to the south. You may have seen in the news over the last week that tensions are raised in the area of Kashmir, and as a result the Pakistani government closed their airspace to all aircraft. But we were then made aware of a technical problem with our plane [a little worrying] which resulted in a two hour delay taking off from Heathrow. By the time we reached New Delhi (14 hours later including delays) we were already feeling over-travelled and sleep-deprived and decided we would not be able to give any one of the extraordinary sights of this city the attention it deserved. We will be returning several times during our time in India when we will be able to plan visits to places such as the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid mosque and Humayun’s tomb. At New Delhi Station we arrived from the airport on a very sophisticated metro line, to be bombarded by atmosphere of the […]
From the UK by Ferry – Sunday 3rd February 2019 Although Eurostar trains now run direct to Amsterdam regular readers will have realised that, whenever possible, Robert likes to maximise the number of different forms of transport he can use on any one journey. Therefore, endorsed by our fellow travellers, instead of a direct train from St Pancras International we are travelling by overnight ferry from Harwich. We were informed a few days before departure via email that part of our train route to Harwich has been replaced by a bus service. So our outward journey now includes a car, a train and a tube to get us to our rendezvous with Belinda and John at one of our favourite old London haunts – the Hamilton Hall. This elegant pub is named after Lord Claud Hamilton who was chairman of the Great Eastern Railway Company from 1893 to 1923. The Company originally built Liverpool Street Station and the pub is in the former ballroom of the Great Eastern Hotel. It retains some of the original painted decorative plasterwork detail on the walls and ceiling. For Robert and Matilda it was also on their commuter route home to East Ham in […]
Ludlow – Friday 25th to Sunday 27th January 2019 We are delighted to be sharing part of our motorhoming adventure in Ludlow with Liz and Martin as they were the first overnight guests to stay in Alan back in the spring and now have their own campervan, affectionately named Connie. Having previously undertaken all our motorhoming adventures in the summer we were not prepared for our arrival at Ludlow Touring Park in the early evening after sunset. Nothing was visible in the reversing camera which made parking Alan on our pitch more of a challenge. We had also had strict instructions to “keep off the grass”. Connie, being petite [and possibly a little bit flighty] by comparison to Alan, proved much easier to manoeuvre and is able to come and go as she pleases. We therefore went into Ludlow to the Charlton Arms Hotel early doors to sample some of the local Ludlow Brewing Company’s ale – judged to be very quaffable – before returning to the campsite for a pre-prepared meal courtesy of Martin. The following morning, we were reprimanded by the site staff for allowing Alan and Connie to be over-familiar as they had inadvertently shared a pitch […]
Reykjavik – Saturday, 8th December 2018 Matilda has spent the week prior to this long-awaited trip checking the Aurora Borealis [Northern Lights] forecast regularly on the Icelandic meteorological office website and is resigned to the fact that, due to the weather forecast which is predominantly cloud and rain, the Northern Lights are unlikely to be visible at all during our stay. Despite such a severe disappointment, we are all being very pragmatic and philosophical as Iceland still has so much to offer. There are relatively few daylight hours at this time of year and so we decided to make the most of them after checking in to our hotel by walking round Reykjavík to the Hallgrimskirkja. The Hallgrimskirkja is the largest church in Iceland at 74.5 metres high and its distinctive tower is one of the dominant landmarks of Reykjavík. It was designed by the architect Guojon Samuelsson in 1937 who took local geology and the basalt columns formed as the lava cooled at the Svartifoss waterfall as his inspiration. Sadly we will not see the Svartifoss waterfall on this visit but it is on the list for next time. Work began on the Hallgrimskirkja in 1945 and the nave was consecrated […]
Stockholm: Wednesday, 28th – Friday, 30th November 2018 Stockholm has a certain special place in our hearts. Before we were married Robert worked as the European Training Manager for the software division of a British company called Letraset. Letraset [famous for rub-down dry-transfers] almost went bust after they purchased another historic British company – Stanley Gibbons [famous for postage stamp collections and catalogues]. A Swedish company called Esselte [stationery] bailed Letraset out. As a result of this Robert often travelled to Stockholm during the late eighties. Matilda had also previously visited a good friend from university who worked in Stockholm for a period and Stockholm was one of our honeymoon destinations in August 1990. When Robert was researching cheap flights and suggested places to Matilda, she approved some, rejected others and put some on the maybe list. When it came to Stockholm she flippantly suggested she wanted to replace the cheese slice bought on our honeymoon [over 28 years ago]. So, factoring in the transportation costs – travel and accommodation for a short city break for two – this must be the most expensive cheese slice ever. In 2006 when we returned to Stockholm on a short city break, we discovered […]
Valletta: Tuesday, 20th – Wednesday, 21st November 2018 Arriving quite late on Tuesday, we checked in to our hotel and were pleased to have been given another free upgrade to a room with a balcony and a stunning view across the harbour. We are assuming this is an unexpected perk of travelling out of season when there are vacant rooms. The hotel was chosen for its history as it is said to be the longest established hotel in Valletta. When booking Robert read that various famous people had stayed here but at the time of writing we cannot find any confirmed celebrity guests to support this. The situation and the views are however excellent. We were advised by a very helpful receptionist where we could go to find a bar and enjoyed an al fresco beer, whilst hearing that it was snowing at home. This meteorological news encouraged Matilda to appreciate the winter sun break even more. After breakfast on the restaurant balcony in the sunshine… … we walked towards the main square and on to the bus garage to buy a day pass which is valid for 24 hours from the time you first use it. Not only has Valletta been […]
Las Palmas: Tuesday, 13th – Wednesday, 14th November 2018 We were not sure quite what to expect from Gran Canaria out of season and, over the first two days, Las Palmas turned out to be a city of two halves. Having been given a free upgrade by the hotel we very happily settled in to our suite on arrival. We then took our customary walk somewhere new for Robert to get his bearings. This took us along the sea front at Playa de Las Canteras, the longest beach on the island at almost four kilometres. The beach is protected by La Barra – a rocky strip running parallel with the shore -and the end where the breakers are more lively seems to be given over to surf schools. The sand lends itself to the creation of detailed and complex sculptures . . . . . . and Matilda judged the sea to be warmer than the hotel pool she had dabbled her fingers into earlier. We realise that we have had our expectations raised by the extraordinary beauty and style of some of the city squares we have visited in mainland Europe recently: Nancy, Krakov and Brugges spring to mind, but the […]